As the 2024 presidential race heats up -- at least on the Republican side -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, still undeclared, is making waves.
According to The Daily Wire, the popular conservative governor smashed a fundraising record at an important New Hampshire Republican Party-hosted event on Friday night. The event was quickly sold out.
Roughly $382,000 was raised at the event, setting a new record and sending shockwaves through the party.
DeSantis is the only potential Republican candidate who pundits believe would have a shot at coming close enough to former President Donald Trump's polling numbers to mount a serious race for the nomination next year.
NHGOP Chairman Chris Ager told a local news outlet that the state party was forced to end ticket sales much earlier than anticipated due to the high demand for DeSantis' event.
"Record-breaking fundraiser for the state party," Ager said.
He added: "Largest fundraiser in the history of the NHGOP, raising more than a quarter of a million dollars. Ticket sales were halted earlier this week after we exceeded planned capacity."
DeSantis New Hampshire Fundraiser Breaks Record for the State’s GOP https://t.co/fknbfkU5lC
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) April 14, 2023
News of the record-smashing fundraising haul came in the wake of competing news reports claiming that DeSantis had struggled to sell out the event.
Those news articles, according to the NH Journal's sources, were disseminated by operatives working for the Trump campaign. "Those stories were coming from allies of the Trump campaign, who’ve been working the press hard with stories of DeSantis’ alleged shortcomings on the campaign trail."
New Hampshire is one of the most important states for Republican candidates to make their case and do well.
The state holds a unique position in the American political landscape as it is the first state in the nation to hold its primary elections during the presidential election cycle.
This gives it an outsized influence on the trajectory of the campaigns for Republican presidential candidates, as well as their counterparts from other parties. The importance of the New Hampshire primary lies in the fact that it sets the tone and momentum for the rest of the primaries and caucuses that follow.
DeSantis might not have declared, but most would agree that you can bet your last dollar he's in for the 2024 race. Only time will tell.
